We love small businesses and start-ups here at Deshpee, which is why much of our advice is targeted to small business owners who want to make a difference.

But it takes more than just a great idea to get started – you’ll also need to take care of the practical elements too. That includes making sure you’re properly registered and able to run your business legally in accordance with the rules of your country.

If you’re ready to get your business up and running, here’s everything you need to know about how to register as a start up in India.

Firstly – why register?

If you hadn’t yet considered registering your start up, there are a number of reasons why you need to, including:

• Registering your new company will provide protection should anything go wrong. You could get into even more trouble if you are held liable for an incident and aren’t seen as a ‘real’ business.
• The same can be said for any issues that arise relating to your products and services.
• If you wish to apply for funding through professional means, lenders are unlikely to provide capital to unregistered companies. They will want to know that what they’re funding is legitimate.
• You may find that you’ll need to be registered by law, so be sure to check up on the legal details of your city or country.

Ready to get registered? Then let’s go!

1. Be sure you’re up to date on the rules for registering a company.

Make sure you know the rules of registering a company in India before you get started.

• You must have a minimum of two directors and two shareholders.
• The directors and shareholders may not transfer their shares.
• You can not have more than fifty shareholders.
• If your company is a private limited company, the general public cannot purchase shares.
• Deposits are only allowed from the members, the directors or their relatives.

2. Apply for your Director Identification Number (DIN) and Digital Signature Certificate (DSC).

To obtain these, you will have to apply to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. This can be done online via their website and will cost Rs. 100 for the DIN and Rs. 400 – 2,650 for the DSC. The time frame for this application should be no more than 1 – 4 days.

3. Apply for company name approval and obtain a Certificate of Incorporation.

This is also handled by the MCA and can be done online. You’ll be applying for the company name using Form 1A, and will then have to wait for approval of your company name from the Registrar of Company (ROC). You may then fill out Form 1, Form 18 and Form 32 to apply for the Certificate of Incorporation.

The approval will cost Rs. 500, while the certificate can cost between Rs. 4,000 – 10,000. This process should take around 7 – 10 days.

4. Complete the necessary paperwork for the above.

There is also some offline paperwork you’ll need to complete to accompany your online application. When you apply, you will be informed of any documentation you need to provide. This must be signed and stamped before being sent off.

5. Apply for your Permanent Account Number (PAN) and Tax Account Number (TAN).

You can locate the forms to apply for these at tin.tin.nsdl.com – the official site of the Tax Information Network. Specifically, you’ll need Form 49A for the PAN and 49B for the TAN. You can pay online for your application (Rs. 94 for PAN, Rs. 62 for TAN). This should also take around 7 days.

Once all the formalities are complete, you’ll gain your Certificate of Registration be able to start setting up your business for action and can then move on to registering for GST, insurance and other essentials. Although it may seem a lot of work, you’ll be happier knowing your business is being run legitimately.